Brothers and Sisters
by Little Christian
Summary: What happens when Cleo and Gracie get captured, Cam seperates herself from her twin, and Ace and Rusty put themselves in danger while trying to save their friends?
1. Chapter 1

**I'll step a few years into the future (two or three, maybe, I dunno). Anywho, the Chicks are older, now.**

On a warm, summer morning, Gracie sat on the edge of the ice floe, paddling her feet in the clear, green-blue water of the Penguins' pool. She sighed, as she kicked her feet in the water. Cleo peeked out of the fish bowl, with Cam right behind her.

"You alright?" Cleo called, as she waddled up to her younger friend.

"Perfectly fine," Gracie smiled, speaking in her sweet baby voice. Cleo sat down next to her, also dipping her feet in the water. Cam stayed away from the edge.

"Come join us, Cammy!" Gracie pleaded. Cam sighed.

"I'd like to, but…" she faked a cough. "I think I'm coming down with something. Best I don't get wet." Gracie gave her an odd look, and Cleo whispered in her ear.

"She's still scared of water."

"Oh, that's no problem," Gracie stood, and pulled on Cam's flipper.

"Come on; I'll help you."

"Help me with what?"

"Not being scared, of course." Cam stood, but instead of going with Gracie, she turned, and went back inside.

"I'm perfectly _not _scared. I'm just… cold. _Brrr_… it's chilly."

"Oh, don't be an idiot!" Cleo snapped. "It's a perfectly warm day!"

"Well, maybe I'm just not in the mood for a swim!" Cam shouted, lifting the fish bowl, and beginning to climb down.

"If _that's _the case, then you're _never _in the mood!" Cleo shouted back, but Cam just dropped the bowl, which crashed loudly.

Cam stormed into the HQ, looking as angry as a bull when his horns have been cut off (of course, I don't know _how _angry a bull would look with his horns cut off, but I'd expect he'd be pretty angry).

Private looked up from the crash of the bowl, and saw her stomping about.

"What's got you so grumpy-looking?" he asked.

"Just that irritating Cleo, and pesky little Grace," Cam snapped. Skipper rolled his eyes; his daughter could have a temper at times, especially when she was confronted about her fear of water.

"Well, maybe you should just tell them that whatever they were doing was bothering you," Private reasoned (as one would expect, he resented having his daughter being called 'pesky', or his friend's daughter being called 'irritable', but he wasn't going to press the issue).

"HA! Like that would make a difference…"

"Just try it next time," Private suggested, and went back to whatever he had been doing previously.

"Thank you, Private," Skipper said. "I never would have chosen such wise words."  
"No trouble, Skippah," Private smiled.

Despite the fact Private's talk with Cam was helpful, Cam still sulked around for most of the day. If it was just Cam and Gracie talking about her water fear, she would have cheered up by lunchtime, but that wasn't the case. The real problem was her brother; older by two minutes, less mature by two years. He had told her the previous night that he felt he had a small, tiny, hardly noticeable crush on Cleo, and this irritated Cam more than moulting down-feathers. Mostly because when they were a little younger, they had promised that twins stick together, no matter what. Cam felt that he wasn't keeping to his vow, in having a crush on a girl, which, in turn, made her think she was loosing him as a twin, which was her biggest fears… okay, second biggest.

Meanwhile, Cleo and Gracie still stood on the island. They had heard Cam snapping to whoever the poor victim was below, but they couldn't make out what she said. Cleo sighed.

"Well, she'll be a danger to us all for about an hour longer," she said.

"I hate it when she gets into these moods," Gracie groaned. "She's so loud, and she gives me a headache. OW! I feel one coming on just thinking about it."

"Maybe a snow cone run would help?" Cleo suggested. Gracie smiled, and then frowned.

"Who's going to dare go down and tell daddy, or someone where we're going?"  
"We'll just tell Marlene; she'd be the first they go to when they notice our absence. Come on." She took Gracie's flipper, and they went to Marlene's.

About fifteen minutes later, Ace and Rusty, who had been watching Shirtless Ninja Action Theatre for most of the morning, had their ears blocked, and the sound turned all the way up, and still couldn't block out Cam's screaming. She was complaining about how loud the TV had been, and then how they did nothing but sit in front of it, like great lumps of boneless skin, and never got out for exercise, or anything. And when Skipper tried to quiet her down, she only kicked him in the shin, and screamed some more. Just now, though, Ace noticed something.

"DAD!" Ace yelled over the noise. "WHERE ARE CLEO AND GRACIE?"

Skipper slapped Cam hard on the cheek to shut her up, after hearing Ace say 'Dad'. Cam stopped screaming right away (she had always been a little intimidated by her father).

"What was that, Ace?" Skipper asked. Everyone took their flippers off their ear-holes.

"I said 'Where are Gracie and Cleo?'"

"I don't know," Skipper said, looking under the table where Gracie usually hid when Cam had a temper.

"Probably staying away," Kowalski put in. "Wisely, too…" Cam glared at him.

"I'll go see if Marlene's seen them," Private said, getting up.  
"Alright," Skipper agreed. "Rico, go with him."  
"Yus, 'Kippar!" Rico saluted, and followed Private out of the HQ.

"Ace, Rusty, you two stay here, while Kowalski and I check Ringtail's habitat. I wanna make sure they don't go there… ever…"

"Aye-aye, Skipper!" Rusty saluted, like his dad, and Ace stood at attention.

"Good boys," Skipper grinned, and followed Kowalski out.

**Please review! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two!**

"Oh, yes, I have seen Gracie and Cleo," Marlene told Private and Rico. "They went to get snow cones."

"Thank you, Marlene," Private said, hopping onto the wall. "See you later!" He and Rico jumped down, and waddled to the park to find the girls.

Meanwhile, Cam was just calming down. By now, her throat was hoarse, and she was out of breath. Ace and Rusty had gone back to their show, which made Cam more upset, but she couldn't scream anymore.

"Cam, why don't you watch with us?" Rusty asked.

"Who cares about ninjas with no shirts on? It's gross!" Actually, she cared very much. It was one of her favourite shows, but today she was in a negative mood.

"Suit yourself," Rusty shrugged, turning back to the TV.

About half-an-hour later, the show was over, and Ace and Rusty were wondering what to do next. Cam was still sulking at the table, when Skipper and Kowalski came back.

"Haven't found 'em," Skipper said.

"Hopefully, Private and Rico will have more luck," Kowalski added. Just then, they tumbled down the ladder into the HQ.

"We knew where they were!" Private gasped.

"Where were they?" Skipper asked.

"They were getting snow cones, but now they're gone!"  
"Where?!"

"If we knew that, we would have gotten them…"

"Oh, right…"

"Anyway," Private continued, "They never go anywhere without telling us, or Marlene, so…"

"…'y 'rosess o' 'iminatin.." Rico added.

"…they must have been kidnapped!" Private concluded.

"Kidnapped?" cried Rusty, Ace, Skipper, and Kowalski at the same time. Cam just stared at Private and Rico.

"Did I not speak clearly?" Private asked, receiving a glare from Skipper. "Yes, kidnapped. What else would the reason be?"

"Alright," Skipper began, as he began to pace up and down the HQ. "The only person I would accuse of kidnapping is Animal Control Officer X, or Blowhole. Private; you and Kowalski will find X, and look for them. Rico and I will take Blowhole."  
"And, what about us, Dad?" Ace asked.

"You three will stay here."  
"But, Dad-"

"No 'buts'. You stay here!"

Later, after Skipper and the rest left, Ace and Rusty were role-playing as their favourite comic book characters. Cam was sitting in the corner, watching, and feeling bitter towards her twin. Then Ace approached her.

"Do you want to play? You could be Lady Wonder-Cat, saver of Kittens everywhere!"

"Uh… no," Cam said, glaring at him.

"Hey, whoa, whoa, what's the deal-io? I haven't done anything to you, sis!"

"Yes you have! You're broken your vow!"  
"Vow?"  
"About twins sticking together! Last night, you told me you had a crush on Cleo!"

"And?"

"Well, twins don't need crushes… They… they've got each other!"

"I never thought it would be that upsetting to you, Cammy," Ace said slowly.

"Well, it is!" Cam snapped, though feeling a little better since he called her by her nick name.

"But I can't help my feelings towards Cleo," Ace continued. "She's a very nice girl; smart, pretty, fun. I like that. But, I do love you, Cam, very much, and that won't change."

"But… but…"

"I'm sorry it's hurting you, Cam, but I can't help that. Yo can choose to be happy for me, or be upset with me, which will probably hurt you more." Ace turned back to play with Rusty, while Cam sat, and cried.

**Please review! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Nect chappie! Enjoy!**

At around five 'o'clock, the TV fuzzed, and on the screen appeared Hans.

"Hallo? Is this thing on?" he muttered

"Hans!" Cam and Ace cried, Cam jumping to her feet.

"Hans! What do you want?" Cam snapped.

"I just wanted to tell you that if you're missing two of your chicks, I have them here, safe and sound… for now…"

"Where are you, Hans?" Ace asked.

"I have sent you a map of my location via fax. You should receive it shortly."

"Hans, why do you want them? What are you planning?" Rusty demanded.  
"Once you receive this message, I will begin with my plan. Goodbye." The TV blacked out.

"That was a pre-recorded message," Ace pointed out.

"Oh, well that helps!" Cam snapped. "How would he know when we get this? He could have taken over the world by now!"

"Shut up, Cam! We'll find them!"  
"And how will we find our dads to get them?"  
"We won't," Rusty said. "We'll go ourselves."  
"Oh, yeah, after Dad told us to stay here?"

"I said shut up, Cam!" Ace repeated. "And besides, I thought you loved adventures?"

"You shut up!" Cam shot back. "And if you're so keen to go, then consider me out!"

"Fine! I will! We don't need you, do we, Rusty?"  
"Uh… no, I guess not…" Rusty stammered.

"FINE! I don't need you, either!"

"OH! Dang it, Cam, you're so stubborn!"

"Unlike you, who is so stupid?"

"I'm not stupid!"

"Look, here," Cam shouted. "You're so annoying, inconsiderate, rude, obnoxious, and stupid; I sometimes wish _I never had a twin!_"

This hit Ace hard; he loved having an almost identical twin (I say almost, because of their different genders), and he thought Cam did too, which is why he felt sad when she said this. He took a moment, trying hard not to cry.

"Alright, then," he said, his voice shaking a little. "I understand; Rusty and I will go, now, and if I don't come back, consider your wish granted…" he turned, grabbing Rusty's flipper so he would follow. Cam gasped silently.

"Ace, I didn't mean… What I mean to say was…"

"Don't make excuses," Ace said, turning back to face her. He then opened the stuffed fish door, and he and Rusty went inside, closing it behind them. Cam stood in the middle of the room, watching where they last were.

"Ace…" she sobbed. "I-I… I'm so, so sorry…" She collapsed to the ground, curling up in a small ball, and cried.

**Yes, two with Cam crying. (I felt like crying when I was writing the fight.) Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Enjoy-ify! :D**

Ace and Rusty belly-slid through the sewers and opened a man-hole cover. They ended up in the middle of the Zoo, and had to take cover. Then made their way to Alice's office just in time to hear the fax machine hum and a fax arrive. Ace snatched it up, and held it in his left flipper.

"Okay, this is a map of… New Jersey?!"

"You mean we have to go there?" Rusty groaned.

"Oh, duh!" Ace slapped the side of his head, with his free flipper. "Hans is in the Hoboken Zoo!"

"Oh, right…" Rusty said. "You mean we have to go _there?_"

"Shut up, you," Ace snapped, then turned back to the map, and folded it up. "Get the rocket-powered skateboards!"

"They're at the HQ…"

"Rats; and I don't wanna bump into The Evil Cam, again, either…"

"Look, I'm sure she didn't mean what she said, and that she's very sorry!"

"Rusty, we're talking about Cam here…" Ace said, giving Rusty a look.

"Oh, right…" Rusty sighed. "How are we gonna get to Hoboken?"

"We can just take the subway," Ace replied.

A few moments later, Ace and Rusty were hiding under the train seats, keeping out of sight of humans. By the time they reached Hoboken, it was late afternoon.

"Who knew saving your friends could be such a long day's work?" Rusty groaned, as they sneaked towards the Zoo.

"Shut up, and be stealthy; we don't want Hans to know a couple of chicks are coming to save his captives."  
"But won't he let his guard down then?" Rusty asked.

"He'll do just the opposite; we'd be the perfect bait for Dad and the others, along with Gracie and Cleo."

"How do you know all this?"  
"Dad's taught me about his enemies, well, Hans and Blowhole - who knows how many more he has? – so I kinda learned what they might do."

"When did ya learn that?!"

"Shh!" Ace hissed; they were now nearing the Puffin habitat. "Don't make a sou- AAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Ace and Rusty fell through the ground, and they whizzed down a long, windy slide, going faster and faster, until they reached the bottom with a loud splash!

They resurfaced, coughing, and shivering from shock.

"Good thing the bottom was a pool, and not the ground," Ace gasped, getting his breath back. "Crumbs, this water's freezing!"

As he spoke, the small room they were in began to drain, and they stood shivering in the middle of it. It was pitch black, except for one small beam of light, coming through a hole in the wall, where the water drained.

"In there," Rusty pointed, and they crawled through the hole. They fond themselves in a small room, with a large water tank, filled to the brim. They tiptoed through the only door, and saw a long corridor. They weren't sure which way to go, until they heard footsteps coming from their right.

"Guess we go left!" Ace whispered, and they went as fast, and as quietly, as they could. They kept going until they found a little space in the wall they squeeze into the hide. Ace pushed Rusty inside.

"You stay here," he ordered. "I'm going to find the girls."  
"But, you can't go alone!"  
"Look, Dad's gonna kill me as it is for going off like this. He'll kill me twice when he finds out I dragged you into danger. Now, you stay here!" Without another word, Ace snuck off down the hallway, still ahead of the footsteps. Rusty made himself as small as possible when they passed. Obviously not small enough…

**Please review! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**I just have one thing to say; I absolutly ****_love _****the Copy'n'Paste function on here! It's such a time-saver! XD Anywho, onto the Story, and Enjoy! :D**

Cam was had only just calmed down when Ace and Rusty had gotten off the subway.

"What is wrong with me?" she said out loud. "Ace is right; he's still my twin, and that's not gonna change whether he's head-over-heals in love with a girl, or not." She sighed, and then gasped. "And I let them go off on their own! And I don't even know- Oh wait; Hans is in Hoboken! So, they must have gone there!" She raced to the supply closet in Kowalski's lab, and pulled out one of the rocket-powered skateboards. "Good thing they left these." She raced to the Park, mounted her skateboard, and whizzed off at top speed. "I just hope I'm not too late…"

Gracie shivered in the cold, damp room. The cage was full steel, which didn't help, since she and Cleo were sitting on a cold cage floor. Cleo wrapped her flippers around the younger Penguin, hoping their body heat will warm them both up. Hans sat in a chair on the opposite side of the room, smirking evilly at them.

"What do you want with us, Hans?" Cleo asked, trying to sound more confident then she really was.

"Isn't it obvious? I want you for bait! Skippar and his team will come to rescue you, any moment now…" He leaned back in his chair. Gracie began to cry, not just because she was so cold, but also because she was frightened.

"You're heartless!" Cleo shouted. "Poor Gracie is terrified, and all you do is sit there and smirk! HEARTLESS!"

"Do you think I care?" was the reply. Cleo sighed, and gave up.

Cam had just reach Hoboken Zoo, and discovered the hole Ace and Rusty fell through several minutes before. By now, the sun was setting, giving the sky radiant shades of pink and red and gold.

"Gracie would've loved to see that…" Cam muttered, and then peered down the hole. "Well, here goes!" And she jumped. The long, windy slide was no big surprise to her, but the cold water at the bottom was. She struggled to the surface, gasping for breath, and going under over and over, before the water drain enough for her to stand.

"Oh, help!" She sobbed, miserable. "I did not expect that!" (The thing was, she had never learned to swim, on account of her fear. Gracie, though not very strong, was a better swimmer than Cam.) She stood in the room for a moment, shook her feather dry, and then crawled through the hole. She wandered down the hall, to the right, and came into a bigger room. She took a moment to gaze at its enormity, and then quickly hid when she noticed the hundreds and hundreds of giant spiders crawling around.

"Oh, good grief," she whispered. Then she noticed, tied upside down, by his feet, Ace.

"Oh great! I let him go off alone, and he gets himself captured! Hold on, where's Rusty?" She looked around the room frantically, but saw no sign. She quickly thought up a plan to help Ace escape.

**Please review! :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Two in one day! Two in ten minutes! I'm on a roll! XD Enjoy! :D**

By this time, Skipper and Rico had located, and beaten up a very surprised and very blameless Blowhole.

"I wasn't planning my next attack on the world until August!" he had said. Skipper and Rico went back to the Zoo.

Meanwhile, Private and Kowalski had experienced the same… failure… They had knocked X out cold, and searched every nook and cranny of his apartment.

"Nothing…" Kowalski had said, and they left.

They got home at the same time.

"Anything?" Skipper asked. Kowalski shook his head. "Us neither." Skipper lifted the fish bowl door, and each of them jumped inside.

The HQ seemed empty. Skipper flipped on the light, expecting to see Ace, Cam and Rusty asleep in their bunks (It was now very late). They weren't there.

"What the deuce!?" Skipper gasped. "They rest are missing! Split up, and search, men, I want no closet un-opened…"

Rico scouted all the sewer passages, while Skipper checked the escape tunnels. Private searched all over the rest of the HQ, while Kowalski inspected every space in his lab, and the supply closet. When he opened the closet, he noticed two things. One, the usually neat closet had its contents all over the floor. Two, one of the rocket powered skateboards was missing.

"Skipper," he called, "they seemed to have left on their own!" He

then had an idea. "Be right back!"

He went back into his lab, and came out again seconds later, holding a video tape.

"This is today's tape from the security camera," he explained.

"Since when do we have a security camera?" Private asked.

"I installed it a couple weeks after the chicks hatched." Kowalski placed the tape in the VCR, and pressed play. It showed a clear picture (as clear as it can get in black and white) of the HQ. The camera had been installed in the corner opposite the bunks, near the periscope. They could see and chicks doing nothing, then Ace and Cam seemed to be arguing. Kowalski started fast-forwarding it.

"Stop!" Private exclaimed suddenly, and then pointed at the TV onscreen. "Look, it's fuzzing."

"Put it in normal speed, Kowalski," Skipper instructed. Kowalski pressed play, and they could see Hans come onto the TV onscreen.

"If only we could hear what he was saying!" Skipper grumbled. Then he saw that Ace and Rusty had left. Kowalski fast-forwarded it again, until they saw Cam left several minutes later.

"They must have gone to Hoboken," Private pointed out. "Hans must have kidnapped Gracie and Cleo, and he must have sent a message while we were out!"  
"Whi' 'eans A'e an' 'Usty wen' a'one!" Rico grunted.

"Well, what are we waiting for; Hans to come and take over the world? Let's go!" Skipper ordered. The four Penguins rushed out of the HQ.

**Please review! :D**


	7. Chapter 7

**I am awesome! Three chapters in one day! This one is long. Enjoy!**

Cam put her plan into action. She set her skateboard to its highest speed, grabbed a coil of long, thick rope from a hook behind her, stood on the board, and sped off. She zoomed in fast circles around the room, making the large spiders confused, and dizzy. With each cycle, Cam made her circle tighter and tighter, kinda of herding the spiders into a tight bunch. Then she started bringing the rope around them, tying them tightly. But she didn't know how to stop the skateboard, and she was running out of rope. So she jumped.

Cam tumbled to the ground, while the skateboard crashed into a wall. Cam tied a not in the rope, making sure the spiders couldn't move, and then rushed over to Ace.

"You okay?" she asked, untying the rope around his feet.

"Could be better," Ace groaned, landing on the ground. "So you decided to come?"

"I didn't mean what I said about wishing I didn't have a twin," Cam said, looking at her feet. "I just hope you can forgive me."

Ace smiled, and pulled her into a hug. Cam sighed with relief, and relaxed, then she remembered.

"Where's Rusty?"

"I… I left him in hiding. He should still be there! Come on!" Ace grabbed his sister's flipper, and they ran down the hall to where Ace last left Rusty.

When they reached the place, they were in for a shock.

"Rusty's gone!" Ace cried. "I shouldn't have left him! I'm a bad team leader!"

"Calm down, kiddo," Cam said. "He'll be around somewhere…" They heard voices down the hall, and footsteps. "Don't tell me Hans has more of those hairy freaks!" Cam groaned. She and Ace squeezed into the space in the wall, and waited until the spiders passed.

"That was close," Cam whispered, as she climbed out. "Come on!" They ran down the hall in the direction the spiders came from. They found another, large room, and sneaked inside. They hid behind a large computer-type thing, and Ace peeked out.

"I see Hans," he whispered. "Gracie and Cleo are there, too!"

"Shh," Cam hissed. Hans was talking.

"I was sure your Penguin Papas would be here by now," he said, talking more to himself than to Gracie and Cleo.

"I'm sure they're thinking up a complicated, yet constructive rescue plan…" Cleo whispered to Gracie. "I mean, it's not like they didn't get the message; we saw Hans record and send it!"

"Quiet, you two," Hans snapped, as he headed for the door. "I will be back…" He left the room, not even noticing the two chicks hiding near the doorway.

"Whew…" Ace sighed. "Let's get the girls!"

Ace and Cam tiptoed up to the cage, hoping Hans wouldn't return too soon.

"Cammy, Ace!" Gracie cried, reaching through the cage bars to them.

"Quick, the key's on that hook!" Cleo pointed to a hook near where Hans had been sitting. Cam grabbed them, and opened the cage door.

"Ace!" Gracie rushed up to him, and he lifted her out. Gracie clutched to him, and started crying.

"Shh," Ace clamped his flipper over her beak. "Do you want Hans to hear you? Now we have to find Rusty!"

"Rusty's missing?" Gracie gasped. Ace nodded, and the four of them rushed out of the room (well, three of them. Ace was still carrying Gracie).

They made it back to where Ace had left Rusty, when Cleo noticed something.

"Look, there's a gap in that wall!" she exclaimed, pointing to the opposite wall from where Rust had hidden. She pressed the wall with her flipper. "It's a hidden door!"

"I'll look inside," Ace declared, passing Gracie to Cam. He went inside the hidden room, and found Rusty tied up in a corner.

"Rusty!" he cried, rushing up to him, and untying the thick ropes. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he gasped, once the gag was off. "Did you find the others?"

"Yes, and Cam decided to come help. But come on, we have no time to waste!" He offered Rusty his flipper.

"Where are we going?" Rusty asked, once they were going down the hall again.

"Back to that water room," Ace said.

"Do we have to?" Cam groaned.

"It's the only way we know out!" Ace sighed. "There's the room." They passed through the room, and climbed back through the small hole. The room was empty, though a little wet. Suddenly, they heard a loud humming, and the room filled rapidly with water.

"Ahh!" Cam shrieked.

"Ace, must we?" Gracie begged. "I'm not a strong swimmer!"

"And I can't swim at all!" Cam added.

"Don't worry, Cam; Cleo and I will help you," Rusty assured her, and Cleo nodded.

Ace put his flippers on Gracie's shoulders, and knelt down to her level.

"You'll be alright," he said. "You think you can do this?" Gracie looked frightened, but nodded. "Good." By now, the water was up to Ace and Cam's chests, and Gracie had to tread water. The room continued to fill, until all of them couldn't touch the bottom.

"Quick, swim under the tube slide!" Cleo instructed. The water went higher and higher.

"It wasn't this high before," Rusty pointed out. It didn't even reach the ceiling of the room! Now it's even going up the tunnel!"

Shortly, they reached the top of the tunnel. The hole had been closed up, and Ace knocked against it with his shoulder.

"It's no use," he panted.

"Try pulling it," Gracie suggested.

"There's nothing to pull!"

"You mean we're stuck in here!" Cam cried, starting to panic. She thrashed about in the water, now going under. She grabbed the closest thing she could to keep afloat, but that thing was Gracie, and Cam's thrashing made them both go under.

"CAM! GRACE!" Ace shouted. Cam soon surfaced again, and Ace held onto her.

"Where's Grace?" Cleo gasped.

"Some claw thing came out, and tried to grab me!" Cam choked. "Grace pushed me out of the way, and I think it got her." Rusty took a deep breath, and dove under the water.

"Rusty, no!" Ace shouted.

**Please review! :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**This is the final chapter! SHOCK HORROR! :O Thank you to all those who reviewed! Well... Bml1997, and Cheycartoongirl8... XD**

The water was still, except for it slowly going higher and higher. Cam held onto Ace, who treaded water with one flipper. There was no sound coming from the chicks, as they waited for Rusty to come back up.

Finally, he came up next to Cleo, coughing, and holding Gracie, who was out cold.

"T-that claw was tough," he spluttered. "I don't know how I got her out of it." He held onto Gracie tightly.

"What's the point?" Cam asked. "We're going to drown here!"

"There's still hope, Cam," Ace said.

"More like a two per cent chance we get out of here alive," Cleo muttered. Then followed a long, dreadful silence, where only the sound of water rising slowly could be heard.

Meanwhile, the Penguins had made it to Hoboken, and were trying to figure out where the chicks could be. They had made it to the Puffin habitat, and had searched everywhere. No sign…

"Maybe they're not here," Private suggested. "Maybe Hans took them elsewhere."

"And where would elsewhere be, Private?" Skipper asked, sounding a little sarcastic.

"Well, I don't know, but…"

Down below, Cleo heard voices.

"Someone's up there!" she whispered.

"Who?" Cam asked.

"I don't know, but they might not be friends. Remember, we _are _in Hoboken."

"I don't care if they're friend or foe, I want out!" Rusty said. Everyone looked at Ace.

"Alright," he said. "On three, we shout. One, two, three!"

There was such a noise, as everyone shouted 'HELP!' at the same time. Skipper and the team looked around confused, at where the muffled sound came from.

"Can any of you make out what it is?" Skipper asked. Every head shook, except for Rico's. His nodded;  
"I' 'ounds 'ike 'elp," he grunted.

"Someone needs help!" Private gasped. "But where are they?" Rico tapped his shoulder, and pointed to the ground under his feet. If they looked closely, they could see faint lines in the concrete, and they realised they were standing on some kind of trapdoor. There was no handle, but Rico threw up a crowbar, in hopes he could slip into the thin crack.

By now, the calls for help had stopped, since the water had almost completely submerged the chicks. They only had one small area of air between the roof, and the water. Ace, in one last weak attempt, slammed his body against the door again. This time, it flew open, and Ace blindly climbed out, water in his eyes, so he could not see who was there. He heard the clatter of a crowbar on concrete over the sound of him, and his friends coughing. The he felt strong flippers scoop him up, and hold him tightly.

"Ace! You're okay! And Cam!"

"Dad?" Ace croaked, opening his eyes properly. He found himself, soaking wet, in his dad's flippers, with Cam right beside him, smiling, and snuggling into her father's flippers. Cleo was also hugging her dad as if she would never let him go.

Rusty gave Private, who was kneeling on the ground, Gracie, who was limp in his flippers. Her eyes were closed. Then she started coughing up water, and began to breathe heavily. She opened her eyes, and clutched to Private, coughing, and crying.

"Let's get these little ones home," Private said, standing up with Gracie still in his flippers. She had started shivering, too.

When they got home, it was around midnight, and the chicks were dried thoroughly, Ace, Cam, Cleo, and Rusty were put into their bunks, and Gracie was put in their old crib (she was so small, she could fit in it on her own). The Penguins made sure they were all bundled up, and warm. Then they, too, climbed into their own bunks for a good night's sleep.

The next morning, the chicks sat at the table while Skipper had a talk with them.

"What you did was very foolish," he told Ace and Rusty. "If anything like this happens again, I want you to contact us right away. We always leave a walkie talkie here, and Rico's got the other on in his gut."

"I'm sorry, Dad," Ace sighed. "It was my idea to go."  
"I'm sorry, too," Rusty added. "I went along."

"Good, and Cam," he turned to his daughter. "Why did you come find us, or try to contact us?"

"I-I… I knew you'd be angry, and I didn't think it would be that hard a mission."

"All missions are hard, one way or another, Cam," Skipper said. He then turned to Cleo and Gracie, who had been silently wondering why they were in trouble.

"And you two," he began. "Never, I repeat, _NEVER _go out for snow cones again, unless one of us is with you. And that goes for all of you." He smiled, ruffled Ace's head feathers, and took his team topside for training.

"Well," Cam said, "that was relatively painless."

"Now what?" Gracie asked.

"We could go visit Eggy?" Cam suggested.

"Or play a trick on Ringtail!" Ace added.

"NO!" Cleo cried, grinning. "We could – dramatic pause – do some experiments in Dad's lab!"

The room was silent.

"Oh, yeah, that sounds sooo much fun!" Cam grinned, winking at Ace. Everyone laughed, expect Cleo, who looked confused.

"What?"

**The end! :D This story took up 21 A4 size pages in Microsoft Word, and is 5,442 words long! I hope you enjoyed this story! Please review! :D**


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